A recent report from the Government Actuary’s Department suggested that National Insurance contributions would need to rise significantly to cover the increased cost of state pensions. This would be unfair – in essence, it would mean taxing a generation...

As you might have seen, I’ve finally updated my website, www.paulsweeting.com. This is where I will be adding blog posts on various topics, but there is also something new: an education section allowing students of ST9 – the enterprise risk management...

This summer I took over as head of actuarial science at the University of Kent. I have to admit, part of me was not looking forward to this. I returned to full-time academia to teach and to carry out research, not to get involved in management and administration. ...

Many of our welfare benefits are means tested, you’re able to claim them only when your income and capital (your means) fall below a certain limit. This financial test aims to ensure that public funds are given to those who need it most and it’s been...

I’m seeing a lot of discussion on defined benefit cash flows at the moment. Some of the commentary on the importance of cash flows is sensible; some is questionable; and some is plain wrong. What do we mean by cash flows? When talking about cash flows for a...

This comprehensive, yet accessible, guide to enterprise risk management for financial institutions contains all the tools needed to build and maintain an ERM framework. It discusses the internal and external contexts with which risk management must be carried out, and...